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Skaters are on the right track

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Youngsters practising street sports like skate boarding and BMX riding were causing a problem at Clowne in Derbyshire – until a £80,362 lottery award from Sport England helped put them on the right track.

The Parish Council there was inundated with residents complaining about the nuisance and dangers of youngsters using busy roads and the local supermarket car park to carry out their stunts.

So after consulting the village’s young people they decided to transform a disused railway siding in the centre of the village into a new skate park for extreme sports fans.

The £98,232 facility is proving a big success with young people of all ages and abilities using it constantly from dawn to dusk, something Clowne Parish Council chairman Karl Reid puts down to the involvement of the youngsters from the word go.

“We got the young people involved in the planning, design and implementation of the scheme and took them to other skate parks around the area so they could tell us what they wanted us to do,” he said.

“There were doubters in the village who told us it would never work, but they have been proved wrong. The young people have shown that they can make it work and I am very proud of what they have done.”

Added the father of one of the regular users:  “The kids realise what a great facility they have here and they are not going to see it come to any harm.”

The team who designed the park made use of the natural environment and relics from the nearby railway, building a skate wall into the railway embankment.  They also gained inspiration by looking at the layout of skate parks in other countries before testing out riding surfaces and equipment.

Partnership funding of £12,870 came from the Bolsover Parish Council with Clowne Parish Council chipping in another £5,000.

The Sidings factfile

• The railway theme will be continued when Phase Two of the scheme is undertaken shortly
• Old railway tracks were put to good use as grinding rails for the skateboarders
• The local police, Clowne Youth Partnership, Clowne Community Association and Clowne Business forum were also key stakeholders in the scheme.

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